Heart of Storms
by Kalira69
Summary: A powerful storm has moved in over Konoha, leaving Madara and his lover to find their peace in its centre for as long as it lasts.


Written for the 'Storm' space on my **fluffbingo** card for 2019 Q2.

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Taking a long sip of his tea, Madara lounged comfortably on the roofed part of the engawa, watching the rain pour down. From time to time the flashes across the sky were so bright they became blinding, and thunder rolled near-constantly with the occasional world-shaking _crack_, but it was . . . peaceful. For Madara, in any case - he felt isolated by the storm, his home a quiet island unto itself, one holding himself alone.

It could have been too much, being so cut off, but Madara knew soon he would have company again - and much welcome company - and if he wished, he could reach out with his senses and find the thrum of life in the village. Find his brother, his best friend, his-

Madara smiled as he saw a pale shape approaching in the grey-blue blur the storm had made of the world. Though Madara knew he easily could, Tobirama had not bothered to keep the rain off himself, and he was thoroughly _sodden_, approaching at an easy stride. Madara put his tea aside and rose, moving closer to the wall of water falling just beyond the roof's edge, catching enough spray from the rain to get a bit damp himself.

Tobirama didn't continue all the way to the house, though, and Madara frowned slightly, watching him lingering out in the storm.

The wet and the weather in _themselves_ were no worry, but. . . Madara focused on Tobirama's face, which was stormy itself, and his chakra, which was wild.

Madara swallowed back a soft sound of concern and winced before bounding lightly off the engawa down into the garden, soaked through in half a breath. He made his way to his lover's side, shivering a bit at the pounding of the chill rain against and all around him.

Tobirama glanced at him as he approached, furrowed brow smoothing. Madara reached out, brushing a hand down Tobirama's arm, then catching his hand and bringing it up to kiss the palm. "Welcome home, love." he said simply, letting his chakra - calm and settled from his peaceful afternoon and the enjoyment he had taken secure in the centre of the storm - rise to meet Tobirama's without clashing.

Tobirama's eyes sparked, and he tightened his grip on Madara's hand. "It. . ." he began, then stopped.

Madara squeezed his hand, then kissed him lightly, fleeting. Silent assurance he need not speak, should he choose not. Tobirama smiled, tense lines around his mouth easing slightly.

He closed his eyes, turning his face up into the storm, and Madara took half a step back, trying not to think about the uncomfortable cling of his clothes to his person, even as he began to feel clammy under their sodden weight. Tobirama breathed deeply - somehow not inhaling water, Madara supposed - his chakra flaring outwards a little more; the rain that fell nearest him began to shimmer and then to move with the energy, in trembling pulses.

Tobirama reclaimed his hand after a time, and Madara tensed as he felt Tobirama _gathering himself_ for something, a moment before he shaped a seal and _leapt_, a great creature formed out of the rain all but twining around him as it emerged, then surging up into the clouds. The sound of thunder rent the air, and Tobirama had yet to fall back to earth, shaping a dragon, and a serpent, and an eagle, sending them all loose around himself in turn. A prowling cat that snarled, tail lashing as it stalked over the koi pond. A sea creature Madara couldn't name with too many legs, drifting through the sky.

Tobirama bounded between them, caught between heavy clouds and earth as though he belonged there, breathing life into the storm with jutsu that could have flattened battlefields but here simply floated just above the ground and soared through the rain-thick air. Madara watched, eyes wide, dashing water from his face every so often but otherwise unmoving.

Until Tobirama descended, crossing to him, the last of his jutsu creatures dissolving into the clouds and sinking into the pond as though they were truly alive. Tobirama smiled at him, eyes sparkling, but now they were warm rather than hard. He caught Madara's hands in his, drawing him close for a kiss that tasted of rain and lightning and power. Tobirama's chakra was still wild against his own but no longer surging and choppy as Madara happily surrendered to his lover's passionate kiss.

As he pulled away Tobirama stroked Madara's face, resting their brows together, simply . . . breathing together, falling slowly into a matching rhythm.

Another smile flashed across Tobirama's face as he stepped back, finally moving towards the house, drawing Madara with him.

Madara grimaced as he leapt back up to the engawa, plucking at his sodden collar, then gasped as Tobirama's cold fingers brushed over the bare skin of his arm. A moment later all the water from Madara's clothes, and even his hair, was drawn out into the air and sent away in a broad ribbon, returned to the storm. When Madara turned his gaze back to his lover he was utterly dry, and so was Tobirama, from his bare feet on the boards to his fluffy hair. Madara raised his eyebrows and was gifted another soft kiss, Tobirama's hand drifting over his cheek as he lingered close.

"Thank you." Tobirama said softly, his voice low. "I . . . love the feeling of storms like this, but they make me. . ."

"Restless?" Madara suggested gently, watching Tobirama's rich red eyes. "They feel . . . peaceful, to me." he admitted. "Relaxing."

Tobirama smiled crookedly. "Relaxing, yes . . . but only after I can . . . settle, somehow." he said, breathing deeply.

Madara watched him for a moment, then caught his hand, nuzzling a warm kiss to his palm once more but this time lingering. "Are you?" he asked, looking up at Tobirama without raising his head.

Tobirama's smile evened out then, his expression soft. Madara returned the smile, nuzzling Tobirama's palm once more before gently pulling him to the big chair Madara had been lounging in before, then down into it alongside him.

Tobirama curled into Madara's shoulder with a long, contented sigh, his eyes wide and bright but his body utterly relaxed. Madara hummed fondly and tucked an arm around his waist, cuddling his lover close and supporting him as he settled into a near boneless state with his head on Madara's shoulder, attention fixed on the storm as it continued to fill the world around them, leaving them alone in a beautiful, calm world of their own.


End file.
